He Stopped Loving Her Today
by Time Lady
Summary: After Shuu's death in an accident, Jyou and Shin go to sort out his apartment and find relevations into Shuu's heart. Shuujun, Taijun, Jyoumina. Song Fic. Based on the song "He Stopped Loving Her Today" by George Jones.


He Stopped Loving Her Today

By Time Lady

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Disclaimer. I do not own Digimon or the song. Based on the song "He Stopped Loving Her Today" by George Jones.

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***

__

He said I'll love you till I die

She told him you'll forget in time

As the years went slowly by

She still preyed upon his mind

***

Shin unlocked the door to his brother Shuu's apartment. It felt strange. Not like the times when Shuu was away on business and Shin was keeping his eye on the place. This was probably the last time he would ever see this place. This time there would be no cheery note about keeping the plants watered or defrosting the freezer. Never again.

"It feels weird, doesn't it?" said a voice behind him. Shin whirled around to find Jyou, his arms full of empty boxes.

"Getting some time out from the Digital World?" asked Shin.

"Even doctors get a break now and then. Besides, my assistant Sam needs the practice handling things for a few days." Jyou set down the boxes in the foyer. "Mom wasn't too clear on things. She was still crying. How did it happen?"

"A cave-in on his dig. His chest was crushed by the weight before they could dig him out."

"I still can't believe it."

"Yeah." Shin looked around the sparsely furnished apartment. "We need to get his things cleared out of the apartment. Mom and Dad are too broken up. I know he's gone, but part of my mind doesn't feel like the realization has set in yet."

"I know. I sort of feel like he's going to walk in at any time."

***

__

He kept her picture on his wall

Went half crazy now and then

He still loved her through it all

Hoping she'd come back again

***

Shin took a garbage bag and a box into the kitchen while Jyou took some boxes into the bedroom. Jyou hadn't been in the bedroom of the apartment before. The bed was made precisely, waiting for an owner who would never return. The walls were bare except for a few framed photographs. One was a picture of the entire family taken at Jyou's wedding. Another was a picture of the brothers taken when they were younger. Carefully Jyou took the pictures down and put them in a box.

The next picture made him pause. It was a picture of Shuu and a woman. Studying the picture, he realized the picture was of Jun Motomiya, now Jun Yagami. Jyou blinked in surprise. The two were wearing university sweatshirts. Shuu's arm was draped around Jun's shoulder in a somewhat intimate manner. Jyou began to wrack his memory. He vaguely remembered seeing the two together. . . Jun would have been a freshman the year Shuu was a senior. He took off another picture of Jun blowing a kiss to whoever was behind the camera. Another picture was of the two at a dance. His curiosity was running rampant as he packed away each of the photographs.

***

__

Kept some letters by his bed

Dated 1962

He had underlined in red

Every single I love you

***

He walked over and took another photograph off the end table. Once he had all the frames safely stored, he turned to Shuu's end table. Inside the drawer he found a pile of what seemed to be print-outs of emails and chats.

The earliest of the messages was dated 2002. It appeared to be a chat between Jun and Shuu, over the summer, when Shuu would have been working with Professor Takenouchi. Jun would have been getting ready to go to college. Blinking in surprise, Jyou didn't realize that the two had a relationship started back then. On the chat transcripts, every "I love you" was underlined in red. Later messages were from when Shuu had finished his degree and gone on for his masters at a different university.

Jyou felt like a voyeur as he read the messages, but he couldn't tear himself away. He sat down on the edge of the bed. If he remembered correctly, Jun's junior year, Taichi showed up at the same university. He himself had been away at a different university.

"What do you have there?" asked Shin, poking his head through the doorway.

"Some emails and chat transcripts. I found them in Shuu's drawer."

Shin came over and picked up a couple of pages. "Oh man," he said after reading them. "So that's why he was always so down. . ."

"Huh?"

"You were away. And by the time you came back I think Shuu had himself under control. I knew he and Jun had broken up, but didn't know the details."

He handed Jyou the pages he had read. It was the chat with the later date, about two years before Jun and Taichi married.

QueenJ2519: Hi.

KidoShuu: Hey. Sorry I haven't been able to call. Things have been hectic.

QueenJ2519: I'm sure they have been.

KidoShuu: Are you angry with me?

QueenJ2519: Shuu, we have to talk.

KidoShuu: . . .

KidoShuu: You know I hate it when you say that.

QueenJ2519: *sigh*

QueenJ2519: Maybe it's better if I say it online. Shuu, I think it's time we start seeing other people. . .

KidoShuu: . . .

KidoShuu: . . .

KidoShuu: . . .

KidoShuu: This is a joke, right?

QueenJ2519: Shuu, we've been dating for 3 years. Well, 2 years, since I haven't seen you much over the last year. I've been dropping hints like crazy, but you don't seem to have gotten the hint. I'm ready for a commitment. You're not. And. . . well. . . I'm lonely. Sometimes I'd like a little company. Don't you ever feel that way?

KidoShuu: . . . Sometimes. . .

QueenJ2519: Besides, maybe if you see who else is out there, you'll finally come around and see what you've had under your nose. Anyhow I need to go get some studying done. Bye. I love you.

KidoShuu: I love you too.

QueenJ2519 signed off

The brothers began to actively read the transcripts of various conversations held online between Jun and Shuu. At the time, Jun would have been in college in Tokyo, while Shuu was on one of the other islands. The outside reader could see Jun's many attempts to get Shuu to make some sort of commitment. Shuu seemed to avoid any and all mention of it. Jyou noticed that the "I love yous" from Jun were becoming less and less frequent, more and more at a prompting from another "I love you" from Shuu.

The cleaning was forgotten as Jyou and Shin poured over the papers. The dates between conversations were becoming further apart. While that might have been excused as Shuu not printing a message, comments like "I haven't heard from you all week" led them to believe otherwise. The last transcript they found was about a year after the other.

KidoShuu: Where have you been? I've emailed, I've tried to catch you online, and I've even tried calling. Didn't your roommate give you the messages?

QueenJ2519: She did. I've been busy. I haven't been online much.

KidoShuu: Don't you bother to check email regularly.

QueenJ2519: All I tend to get is junk mail.

KidoShuu: Did _any_ of my messages come through?

QueenJ2519: Yes, they did.

KidoShuu: Then why didn't you respond?!?

QueenJ2519: What use would it have been? You've been avoiding the "c" word and the "m" word for four years. Last year we agreed we would see other people.

KidoShuu: You've been out on a date every night.

QueenJ2519: Almost every night.

KidoShuu: So how many guys have you been seeing?

QueenJ2519: 1.

KidoShuu: ONE?

QueenJ2519: 1. Taichi Yagami came to the college a couple of years ago. We've been dating the last year.

KidoShuu: . . .

KidoShuu: Is this the same Taichi that you used to date before we started going out?

QueenJ2519: yes.

KidoShuu: The same Taichi that's one of the best friends of my little brother.

QueenJ2519: yes.

KidoShuu: The same Taichi whose sister your brother obsessed about for years.

QueenJ2519: YES! THAT TAICHI! WILL YOU STOP PLAYING 20 QUESTIONS ALREADY?!?

KidoShuu: I guess he's been keeping you company.

QueenJ2519: Shuu. . . I'm not going to drag this out any further. Taichi asked me to marry him. . .

KidoShuu: WHAT?!? YOU'RE NOT SERIOUS?!?!!!!!

QueenJ2519: . . . And I said yes.

KidoShuu: You're kidding me, right? This is some sort of early April Fool's joke. Or you're trying to get me to ask you.

QueenJ2519: No. You can ask my roommate. She's seen the ring. It's not big, but it's mine.

KidoShuu: HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME? TO US?!!!!!!!!!!

QueenJ2519: There hasn't been an "us" in over two years. You've been away doing research. I've seen you about 3 times since you graduated.

KidoShuu: Are you just doing this to get married? Is that it? You just want to get married to some guy and have kids.

QueenJ2519: NO! I love Taichi. I think I always have, deep down. He helped bring out many things in me that made me the woman you know, not the teen I used to be. Taichi and I sort of drifted my senior year. Then I met you. I loved you once, but deep down, I think I always loved Taichi. . .

The next few lines were blurred, as if tears had fallen onto the paper and smeared the inkjet printout to the point of illegibility. The top of the next page, a continuation of the same conversation, wasn't as obscured.

KidoShuu: You're really serious about this. . .

QueenJ2519: Yes. We haven't set an exact date, but it will be during the summer break. We're looking at apartments near campus.

KidoShuu: Jun, I still love you. Can't we give this some more time?

QueenJ2519: Shuu, if the truth be told, I'm not sure if I still love you. At least not in the way you would want me to. And not in the way I love Taichi.

KidoShuu: I'll love you till I die.

QueenJ2519: [shakes head] You'll forget in time. You'll meet some other girl and fall in love. But maybe this time you won't wait to ask her to marry you.

KidoShuu: No Jun. I'm serious. I _will_ love you till I die.

QueenJ2519: I need to go now. Goodbye Shuu.

KidoShuu: JUN WAIT!

QueenJ2519 signed off.

"He never talked about it," said Shin, shaking his head. "Sometimes we caught him tearing up. He always blamed it on allergies. Never saw him take any allergy medicine though."

"You know, I don't think I really saw him smile much in the last few years, now that I think of it." Jyou began putting all the papers into a neat pile. "This is all just too weird."

"Yeah. Let's pack this stuff up. We can sort things out once everything's had a chance to settle down."

***

__

I went to see him just today

Oh but I didn't see no tears

All dressed up to go away

First time I'd seen him smile in years

He stopped loving her today

They placed a wreath upon his door

And soon they'll carry him away

He stopped loving her today

***

"It's real, isn't it?" Shin tried to hold back his tears as they looked at the open coffin. The people who prepared Shuu's body for the funeral had done an excellent job of hiding the damage from his injuries.

"Yeah," returned Jyou, his handkerchief balled up in his hand. "He almost looks like he's smiling."

"I don't think I've seen him smile in years like this. He seems to be at peace. Have Mom and Dad seen him?"

"A little earlier. Mom broke down in tears again. Mina and Dad are sitting with her in the sanctuary. Gomamon is baby-sitting so Mina could be here with me."

A man in a dark gray suit tapped at the door politely before entering. "Dr. Kido?"

"Yes?" replied Shin and Jyou in unison. The man blinked.

"Sorry, we're both doctors," explained Shin.

"Ah. Well, it is time for the ceremony." The funeral director stepped forward and closed the casket. It had been agreed that the ceremony would be held with the casket closed. A woman stepped forward and laid a wreath of flowers on the door of the casket, then two men rolled the casket into the sanctuary.

Jyou and Shin entered the sanctuary. Shin slid in next to a slender woman with light brown hair. Jyou found his wife Mina sitting with his parents. Shin's wife had helped Mina select an outfit suitable for the funeral, as what was considered appropriate for funerals in India wasn't exactly the same as Japan. Mina slipped her hand into Jyou's.

Professor Takenouchi stepped up to the podium to give the eulogy. Jyou saw Sora seated with her mother. Yamato was away on another space mission. Several people Jyou didn't know were seated in the pews. He guessed most of them were co-workers of Shuu. The door opened behind them. Glancing over his shoulder, Jyou blinked in surprise. In walked Taichi and Jun Yagami. They took up a seat in the pew behind Jyou.

"Sorry we're late," whispered Taichi. "We had to drop the kids with my parents." Jyou nodded, then turned back to listen to Professor Takenouchi, his mind reeling.

***

__

You know she came to see him one last time

Oh and we all wondered if she would

And it kept running through my mind

This time he's over her for good

***

"That was a beautiful service," said Jun, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue.

"Yeah," agreed Taichi. "How come Sora's dad did the eulogy instead of one of you?"

"Professor Takenouchi has spent the most time with Shuu recently on his digs," explained Shin. "Neither of us saw him much over the last few years."

"I'm sorry Yamato wasn't here," said Sora. "He doesn't know about your brother yet."

"That's okay," returned Jyou, trying to keep his voice steady. He was trying to be strong, as much as it hurt. The realization that his brother was truly gone was fully setting in. "I don't think Yamato knew Shuu very well." Mina gently squeezed her husband's arm.

"Excuse me," interrupted the funeral director again. "Who will be riding in the limo to the cemetery?"

Shin and Jyou looked at each other. "My sports car will only hold two people," said Jyou.

"Perhaps I should ride with your mother," said Mina. Shin's wife also asked to ride. Jyou decided to ride with Shin.

"Will you guys be following us to the cemetery?" asked Jyou.

"Of course," said Jun. "I feel I still need to say my last goodbyes to Shuu." Taichi nodded. He knew of his wife's former relationship with the middle Kido brother.

"All right. We better get into the cars," said Shin.

***

__

He stopped loving her today

They placed a wreath upon his door

And soon they'll carry him away

He stopped loving her today

***

"God, why does it still seem so surreal?" said Jyou as he slid into the passenger seat of the two-seater car. Shin and his wife didn't have any children, so a larger car wasn't necessary. Shin took up his place in the driver's seat.

"I know. . . I keep expecting to wake up after some sort of nightmare."

They waited as the attendants carefully placed the casket into the hearse. Once the hearse pulled away, the limo followed. Then Shin's car, followed by several others. Jyou glanced into the rear-view mirror and saw Jun and Taichi in the car behind them. Sighing, Jyou took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Did you read any more of those print-outs?"

"No. I just couldn't bring myself to read them."

"I still just can't get that thing he said out of my head. He told Jun he'd love her till he died."

The brothers were silent for the rest of the ride. They turned into the cemetery. One by one the line of cars pulled up. Jyou and Shin lingered in the car a few moments. They saw Taichi and Jun, Taichi's arm wrapped comfortingly around his wife. The pall bearers, friends of Shuu's, were removing the casket from the hearse.

"It's a weird thought," said Shin, breaking the silence. "But if you think about it, he stopped loving her today."

With a nod and a sigh, Jyou opened the car door. Together the two brothers went to put Shuu to his final rest.

__

He Stopped Loving Her Today -- George Jones

He said I'll love you till I die

She told him you'll forget in time

As the years went slowly by

She still preyed upon his mind

He kept her picture on his wall

Went half crazy now and then

He still loved her through it all

Hoping she'd come back again

Kept some letters by his bed

Dated 1962

He had underlined in red

Every single I love you

I went to see him just today

Oh but I didn't see no tears

All dressed up to go away

First time I'd seen him smile in years

He stopped loving her today

They placed a wreath upon his door

And soon they'll carry him away

He stopped loving her today

You know she came to see him one last time

Oh and we all wondered if she would

And it kept running through my mind

This time he's over her for good

He stopped loving her today

They placed a wreath upon his door

And soon they'll carry him away

He stopped loving her today

Author's Notes:

Two song fics from me in less than a month. Geez, with this kind of a roll, I might eventually rewrite "Digicabana" (a.k.a. the song parody that refuses to go away) into a real song fic.

This is another case of sudden inspiration. After "I Don't Remember Loving You," I started thinking about other songs I like that would make good song fics (and I don't really _like_ song fics - weird, huh?).I was almost considering writing this as 1 sided Junato, but it wasn't working for me. Conversations in other boards on who to link Jun up with sort of led to this. A few people were suggesting Shuujun as another alternative. I'm a Taijun fan. Then things sort of fell into place. 

"He Stopped Loving Her Today" is one of my favorite songs. No matter how many times I've heard it, just listening, even thinking about it, brings a shiver to my spine. If you haven't heard it, it is a truly beautiful song.


End file.
